ok on, where this is the state of things?"

[Footnote 4: The Chief of the Ki clan was virtually the Duke of Lu,
under whom Confucius for a time held office.]

[Footnote 5: These posturers were mutes who took part in the ritual of
the ancestral temple, waving plumes, flags, etc. Each line or rank of
these contained eight men. Only in the sovereign's household should
there have been eight lines of them; a ducal family like the Ki should
have had but six lines; a great official had four, and one of lower
grade two. These were the gradations marking the status of families,
and Confucius's sense of propriety was offended at the Ki's usurping
in this way the appearance of royalty.]

[Footnote 6: Three great families related to each other, in whose
hands the government of the State of Lu then was, and of which the Ki
was the chief.]

[Footnote 7: One of the five sacred mountains, worshipped upon only by
the sovereign.]

[Footnote 8: Tsou was Confucius's birthplace; his father was governor
of the town.]

[Footnote 9: A renowned statesman who flourished about two hundred
years before Confucius's time. A philosophical work on law and
government, said to have been written by him, is still extant. He was
regarded as a sage by the people, but he lacked, in Confucius's eyes,
the one thing needful--propriety.]

BOOK IV

_Social Virtue--Superior and Inferior Man_

Sayings of the Master:--

"It is social good feeling that gives charm to a neighborhood. And where
is the wisdom of those who choose an abode where it does not abide?

"Those who are without it cannot abide long, either in straitened or
in happy circumstances. Those who possess it find contentment in it.
Those who are wise go after it as men go after gain.

"Only they in whom it exists can have right likings and dislikings for
others.

"Where the will is set upon it, there will be no room for
malpractices.

"Riches and honor are what men desire; but if they arrive at them by
improper ways, they should not continue to hold them. Poverty and low
estate are what men dislike; but if they arrive at such a condition by
improper ways, they should not refuse it.

"If the 'superior man' make nought of social good feeling, how shall
he fully bear that name?

"Not even whilst he eats his meal will the 'superior man' forget what
he owes to his fellow-men. Even in hurried leave-takings, even in
moments of frantic confusion, he keeps true to this virtue.

"I